[TamSV]

That's the business model for motor insurance these days. Flog it through comparison sites at zero or sometimes even negative commission. So the broker makes no money or maybe loses a bit but they keep their premium down at the time when there's some competition.

However, they know that a % of their customers will make some kind of change to their policy during the year. At that point there's no competition as you've got little choice but to stick with them so they are able to collect a fee.

A further % will have a claim. If it's not your fault they'll sell your details to an accident management company. If the accident was your fault, they'll sell the third party details.

The insurance is a loss-leader these days - it's used to sell add-ons, collect mid-term fees and farm claims.

Think about it though. The premium here was £70. Average motor commission is around 10% for the broker if he's lucky. If they needed to make their money on the initial sale they would have had to charge you at least that £35 to make it worth their while.